The Gifts of God for the People of God

Eucharistic Meditation

Many Christians, when they come to the Lord’s Supper at all, come to the Table cowering, trembling, sometimes they get to the table or the bread comes by and they balk and refuse to take, saying to themselves: “Surely I’m not worthy, I really haven’t done as well as I should have this week.” But this gets the table all backwards and upside down. Of course, you’re not worthy, that’s the whole point. This is a table for forgiven sinners. This is a Eucharistic table, a table of thanksgiving. And the principle thing we are thankful for is the fact that we are here in the first place. But this thankfulness must translate into joyful confidence or it is not really thankfulness. The irony is that the person who cowers and balks at the Supper is actually not being humble at all; he’s actually being arrogant and proud, trusting his intuition, his conscious, his feelings over and above God’s Word. Here’s the bread, the body of our Lord for you, rejoice! Here’s the wine, the blood of our Lord for the remission of your sins, rejoice! To cower, to balk at these gifts here presented is to disbelieve the Word of God. It is not humility, it is simple unbelief. Here are the gifts of God, for you the forgiven people of God. Therefore receive them now with joy and thanksgiving.